1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an abduction pillow used which facilitates post operative positioning of the patient while eliminating pressure on a patient's heels as a patient is turned from side to side.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Abduction pillows are well known in the art. Abduction pillows are used to prevent post operative hip dislocation of a patient that received a hip prosthesis. The abduction pillow is used to keep the patient's legs spread apart. As such, hip replacement patients are rolled from one side, for example, 30° from the horizontal, to the other side, 30° from the horizontal in the other direction, to keep weight off the patient's sacrum. The patient is typically rolled from one side to the other every two hours.
A known abduction pillow, a ProCare Model No. 79-901 hip abduction pillow, as manufactured by DJO Incorporated, is illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 and generally identified with the reference numeral 20. The abduction pillow 20 is described and illustrated at http://www.procaresoftgoods.com/index.asp/fuseaction/products.detail/id/200, hereby incorporated by reference.
Briefly, the abduction pillow 20 is formed in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid having a pair of parallel spaced apart narrow and wide faces 22 and 24, respectively, and a pair of non-parallel equal length faces 26 and 28. As best shown in FIG. 3, the faces 26 and 28 are formed with concave surfaces. These concave surfaces 26 and 28 are configured to receive a patient's legs.
A pair of spaced apart bores 32 and 36 is provided along a longitudinal axis 34 of the abduction pillow 30. The bores 32 and 36 are configured to receive straps 35 and 38 respectively, for securing the abduction pillow 20 to the patient after the patient's legs have been properly positioned in the device.
The abduction pillow 20 is placed between a patient's legs so that the narrow face 22 is placed above a patient's knees and the wide face 24 is placed below the patient's knees so that the patient's feet extend beyond the wide face 24. In order to keep the patient's weight off the sacrum, the patient is rotated from side to side about 30°.
As best shown in FIG. 3, the abduction pillow 20 is formed with a uniform thickness defining generally flat and parallel upper and lower surfaces 40 and 42, respectively. As such, as best shown in FIG. 4, a standard pillow 44 is folded and used to maintain a patient in a rotated position.
There are several problems with the abduction pillow 20. First, as best illustrated in FIG. 4, the weight of both of the patient's legs and the abduction pillow is borne on the patient's heel. This will cause a pressure sore on the outside back of the heel. Secondly, the abduction pillow 20 requires lifting of both of the patient's legs by a nurse which is cumbersome and can result in the nurse getting back pain. Thirdly, two people are required to move the patient from side to side. In particular, one person is required to rotate the patient's legs while a second person is required to fold a pillow and place it in position as shown in FIG. 4.
Other hip abduction pillows are known and described in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,805,605; 5,289,828; 5,476,105; and US Patent Application Publication No. US 2009/0229056 A1, all hereby incorporated by reference. None of the hip abduction pillows described in these references provide an adequate solution to the problems associated with such hip abduction pillows as set forth below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,605 discloses a hip abduction pillow which includes a base member formed from a bendable material and a spacer. The base member is formed as an isosceles trapezoid with the narrow end placed above the patient's knees and the wide end placed below the patient's knees so that the patient's feet rest on the base member. The spacer is placed above the patient's knees to keep the patient's legs spread apart. In order to ameliorate heel pressure of the patient, the device relies on lowering of the foot end of a standard hospital bed. The device disclosed in the '605 patent relies on placement of the patient and abduction pillow on the hospital bed so that lowering of the foot end of the hospital bed causes bending of the patient's knees which lessens the pressure on a patient's heels. Unfortunately, the abduction pillow disclosed in the '605 patent does not allow a patient to be rotated from side to side.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,289,828 and 5,476,105 disclose an abduction pillow that is configured to hold one of the patient's legs in an elevated position and the other leg in a generally flat position. More particularly the abduction pillow disclosed in these patents discloses a wedge shaped device formed as an elevated inclined plane with a central notch for receiving a patient's leg. The lower end of the inclined plane is closest to the patient and the higher end is furthest from the patient. Generally flat bars are disposed on opposing sides of the wedge shaped device. In use, one leg is received in the notch in the wedge shaped device and the other leg is placed along side of the wedge shaped device so that the patient's ankle is resting on one of flat bars. A wedge is placed under the patient's upper torso to maintain the patient in a rotated position. Although the abduction pillow disclosed in these patents ameliorates the problem of heel sores, there are other problems associated with such an abduction pillow. First, rotation of a patient from side to side with such an abduction pillow requires multiple personnel. In particular, one person needs to handle the wedge under the patient's upper torso and one or more persons need to handle the patient's legs. Third, since the patient's legs are not fixed in place during the rotation, rotation of a patient from one side to another can result in post operative dislocation.
US Patent Application No. US 2009/0229056 A1 discloses a hip abduction pillow similar to the hip abduction pillow 20 described above and illustrated in FIGS. 1-4. The main difference is that the hip abduction pillow described in the aforementioned publication is configured with a flexible material to enable a patient to bend their knees.
Thus there is a need for a hip abduction pillow that solves the problems of the prior art that facilitates post operative rotation of a patient after hip replacement surgery while ameliorating heel sores and enables a single person to rotate a patient.